Review of single vector boson production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV

Abstract

This review summarises the main results on the production of single vector bosons in the Standard Model, both inclusively and in association with light and heavy flavour jets, at the Large Hadron Collider in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. The general purpose detectors at this collider, ATLAS and CMS, each recorded an integrated luminosity of $\approx 40\,{\rm pb^{-1}}$ and $5\,{\rm fb^{-1}}$ in the years 2010 and 2011, respectively. The corresponding data offer the unique possibility to precisely study the properties of the production of heavy vector bosons in a new energy regime. The accurate understanding of the Standard Model is not only crucial for searches of unknown particles and phenomena but also to test predictions of perturbative Quantum-Chromo-Dynamics calculations and for precision measurements of observables in the electroweak sector. Results from a variety of measurements in which single W or Z bosons are identified are reviewed. Special emphasis in this review is given to interpretations of the experimental results in the context of state-of-the-art predictions.